Motorola Mobility suddenly drops bid to ban sale of Macs, iOS devices

Apple and Google-owned Motorola have no settlement, but ITC case is likely over.

Just two weeks after the International Trade Commission voted to investigate Apple on patent infringement claims brought by the Google-owned Motorola Mobility, Motorola has dropped its complaint.

Motorola had asked for import bans on just about every notable Apple hardware product, including all Macs, iPads, and most iPhones. But the company completely dropped its complaint in a very short filing made with the ITC on Monday night.

“Complainants Motorola Mobility LLC, Motorola Mobility Ireland, and Motorola Mobility International Limited (collectively, 'Motorola') hereby move to terminate all claims in this investigation without prejudice based on Motorola’s withdrawal of the complaint, with Motorola and Apple each bearing their own costs and attorneys’ fees,” the filing states.

Apple and Motorola are pursuing various lawsuits against each other, including another suit Motorola filed against Apple in the ITC in 2010. That one is still active. While an administrative law judge ruled a Motorola patent is invalid, the full ITC disagreed. The case was sent back to the judge, and he wrote in a filing yesterday that he is targeting an April 2013 finish date.

Neither of the latest filings make reference to the other case, so Motorola dropping its newer complaint remains unexplained. Earlier in the day, Apple made its own filing asking for a 30-day extension on a deadline for responding to Motorola’s complaint due to “the complexity of this matter.” Motorola’s filing to drop the whole case was received by the ITC just a half hour later. Motorola did not specify why it’s dropping the complaint, but it did say there’s no settlement. “There are no agreements between Motorola and Apple, written or oral, express or implied, concerning the subject matter of this investigation,” Motorola said.

Not surprisingly, Apple confirmed to Motorola that it does not oppose the motion to drop the case. We’ve contacted Google, Motorola, and Apple to find out what spurred this latest move, and will provide an update if we receive one.

No, what they should have done is got macs banned, and conceded the entire new PC market to Windows 8, which carries something like 10-12 MS Online services on its Start Screen by default. Now, that would have been a brilliant move by Google.

Indeed. It's a bit odd how the press is treating the companies. Google owns and controls Motorola Mobility the same way Google owns and controls Android. The only reason for using the MM brand in an article like this is because the acquisition was fairly recent.

Indeed. It's a bit odd how the press is treating the companies. Google owns and controls Motorola Mobility the same way Google owns and controls Android. The only reason for using the MM brand in an article like this is because the acquisition was fairly recent.

Or because the Motorola Mobility is stilll a subsidiary, and is called Motorola Mobility not Google. And it still Motos name all over the ITC complaint.

Indeed. It's a bit odd how the press is treating the companies. Google owns and controls Motorola Mobility the same way Google owns and controls Android. The only reason for using the MM brand in an article like this is because the acquisition was fairly recent.

Or because the Motorola Mobility is stilll a subsidiary, and is called Motorola Mobility not Google. And it still Motos name all over the ITC complaint.

Correct, it says Motorola Mobility on the complaint. Because Motorola is the entity that sued Apple.

Google is mentioned in the subheadline and the first sentence. We're not exactly ignoring the fact that Google owns Motorola Mobility. It's all over the story. These complaints are silly and not even grounded in reality.

We don't say "EMC" when we mean "VMware," either, and no one complains.

Indeed. It's a bit odd how the press is treating the companies. Google owns and controls Motorola Mobility the same way Google owns and controls Android. The only reason for using the MM brand in an article like this is because the acquisition was fairly recent.

Every negative move coming out of Google these days has the Motorola name attached. It feels like Google is using Motorola as its proxy for bad behavior.

Indeed. It's a bit odd how the press is treating the companies. Google owns and controls Motorola Mobility the same way Google owns and controls Android. The only reason for using the MM brand in an article like this is because the acquisition was fairly recent.

Or because the Motorola Mobility is stilll a subsidiary, and is called Motorola Mobility not Google. And it still Motos name all over the ITC complaint.

It's a good way for Google to play it. They stand under a Google banner talking about openness, innovation, and patent reform and at the same time sue with every patent they've got under the Motorola banner.

The general public won't have the association of Google with the patent suits, but to me it seems disingenuous to pretend to be above it all while using Motorola to do your dirty work.

Five bucks says there were a couple things going on. They thought their case was somewhat weak. And were told by Apple that should they proceed then things like Googles map app, search and anything else Google would be booted from iOS/OS X. And you know how Google loves them some data.

Indeed. It's a bit odd how the press is treating the companies. Google owns and controls Motorola Mobility the same way Google owns and controls Android. The only reason for using the MM brand in an article like this is because the acquisition was fairly recent.

Every negative move coming out of Google these days has the Motorola name attached. It feels like Google is using Motorola as its proxy for bad behavior.

you can't have 2 teams playing against each other with 2 different sets of rules. One team has to adopt the other teams rules. So dude. you can't criticize google for playing apple's under apple's rules

[Motorola] hereby move to terminate all claims in this investigation without prejudice based on Motorola’s withdrawal of the complaint, with Motorola and Apple each bearing their own costs and attorneys’ fees.

Are they allowed to threaten someone with an import ban that would bankrupt the entire corporation, and then after they've spent a ton of money preparing their defense just drop the case? And the defendant has to cover their own legal fees?

The fact Apple filed for a 30 day extension indicates just how much money they've spent so far. Not to mention all the time the court must have put into it.

Five bucks says there were a couple things going on. They thought their case was somewhat weak. And were told by Apple that should they proceed then things like Googles map app, search and anything else Google would be booted from iOS/OS X. And you know how Google loves them some data.

what rock have you been hiding from. apple already has a map replacement

Lawyers and businesses are always reevaluating their plans. Presumably, this action was dropped because the decison was made that it was not the most productive way to proceed. It would be surprising if either Google or their lawyers made the logic behind the calculation public.

Indeed. It's a bit odd how the press is treating the companies. Google owns and controls Motorola Mobility the same way Google owns and controls Android. The only reason for using the MM brand in an article like this is because the acquisition was fairly recent.

Or because the Motorola Mobility is stilll a subsidiary, and is called Motorola Mobility not Google. And it still Motos name all over the ITC complaint.

It's still Google. There is no Motorola anymore, no matter what the papers say. Anything that "Motorola" does anymore is decided by the top people at Google. That should be pretty obvious.

Indeed. It's a bit odd how the press is treating the companies. Google owns and controls Motorola Mobility the same way Google owns and controls Android. The only reason for using the MM brand in an article like this is because the acquisition was fairly recent.

Every negative move coming out of Google these days has the Motorola name attached. It feels like Google is using Motorola as its proxy for bad behavior.

you can't have 2 teams playing against each other with 2 different sets of rules. One team has to adopt the other teams rules. So dude. you can't criticize google for playing apple's under apple's rules

You mean Google's rules of stealing everything they can from others, and then calling it innovation?

Yeah, he got that chief, as do we all, he still made his point, so why are you pressing this? It's a stupid argument.

Because it makes one of my favourite tech sites look sloppy and amateurish when they don't refer the the parent company in a coherent and consistent way. Yes, it's a minor thing all things considered, but details, and polish, still matters.

Are they allowed to threaten someone with an import ban that would bankrupt the entire corporation, and then after they've spent a ton of money preparing their defense just drop the case? And the defendant has to cover their own legal fees?

Oh boo hoo. Apple can just pay the lawyers with the money they get from Samsung. Or, with 100 billion or so in the bank, the change they find in the sofa.

My concern is that Apple's eye isn't on the prize any more. The wasted money is one thing - the wasted executive brainpower is another matter entirely.

Five bucks says there were a couple things going on. They thought their case was somewhat weak. And were told by Apple that should they proceed then things like Googles map app, search and anything else Google would be booted from iOS/OS X. And you know how Google loves them some data.

what rock have you been hiding from. apple already has a map replacement

Five bucks says there were a couple things going on. They thought their case was somewhat weak. And were told by Apple that should they proceed then things like Googles map app, search and anything else Google would be booted from iOS/OS X. And you know how Google loves them some data.

what rock have you been hiding from. apple already has a map replacement

Apple (to Google): We will license turn-by-turn navigation from you if you drop the Motorola cases.Google: Done.

Except for the end of the article that says "There are no agreements between Motorola and Apple, written or oral, express or implied, concerning the subject matter of this investigation,” Motorola said.

Five bucks says there were a couple things going on. They thought their case was somewhat weak. And were told by Apple that should they proceed then things like Googles map app, search and anything else Google would be booted from iOS/OS X. And you know how Google loves them some data.

what rock have you been hiding from. apple already has a map replacement

yes, a map replacement that consumes 70% less data.

Vector is better than bitmap in the end.

Google will be playing catchup... eventually.

Google already has vector-based maps.. on Android. Allegedly one of the features Google was reluctant to license to Apple, at least not for terms Apple found acceptable.

I suspect that regardless of the license terms, Apple would have wanted to roll their own maps sooner or later, anyway. Why give anybody that kind of leverage over you when you have billions of dollars looking for a worthy investment?

you can't have 2 teams playing against each other with 2 different sets of rules. One team has to adopt the other teams rules. So dude. you can't criticize google for playing apple's under apple's rules

I can and will criticize Google for such behavior.

I lost a lot of respect for Apple because of their frivolous lawsuit campaign. I view that campaign mostly as an attack on society. For me, they lost a big PR battle. I expect google to be smarter than that. So, I expect Google to play around these rules. Hopefully, the bosses at Google finally gave their "powers that be" at Motirola the smack in the head that they deserved. Now someone needs to give the same smack to Apple from within Apple.

you can't have 2 teams playing against each other with 2 different sets of rules. One team has to adopt the other teams rules. So dude. you can't criticize google for playing apple's under apple's rules

I can and will criticize Google for such behavior.

I lost a lot of respect for Apple because of their frivolous lawsuit campaign. I view that campaign mostly as an attack on society. For me, they lost a big PR battle. I expect google to be smarter than that. So, I expect Google to play around these rules. Hopefully, the bosses at Google finally gave their "powers that be" at Motirola the smack in the head that they deserved. Now someone needs to give the same smack to Apple from within Apple.

Geez, why get your panties in a bunch? No company is required to be ethical. It's not in their mandate. All companies are expected to make money. Why would you believe it when a company tells you differently? How many times will you believe it before realizing that it's simply not true.

Companies always act in their self-interest and only in their self-interest. They wouldn't survive if they didn't. Why ascribe morality and emotion to their actions?

Indeed. It's a bit odd how the press is treating the companies. Google owns and controls Motorola Mobility the same way Google owns and controls Android. The only reason for using the MM brand in an article like this is because the acquisition was fairly recent.

Every negative move coming out of Google these days has the Motorola name attached. It feels like Google is using Motorola as its proxy for bad behavior.

you can't have 2 teams playing against each other with 2 different sets of rules. One team has to adopt the other teams rules. So dude. you can't criticize google for playing apple's under apple's rules

You mean Google's rules of stealing everything they can from others, and then calling it innovation?

Glad that Motorola dropped the suit. Now only if everyone else would follow action....

You can be sure that they only dropped the suit because they thought it would be advantageous. Google doesn't care about consumers any more than anyone else, possible less.

You had me until the last sentence "possible less", which shows a prejudice against Google. I agree that Google did this because they have something to gain. In general, I view Google as a company that works on good will (with a catch, of course... no profit, no existence). In order to win a battle in the PR war, it's a smart move to avoid playing the same game as others. However, to tell me that others care more about society than Google? That's not credible in any way.

Five bucks says there were a couple things going on. They thought their case was somewhat weak. And were told by Apple that should they proceed then things like Googles map app, search and anything else Google would be booted from iOS/OS X. And you know how Google loves them some data.

what rock have you been hiding from. apple already has a map replacement

Apple is going to have a search replacement too, after all you can't search a map without search capabilities. Oh, the other Google programs are still going to put out of the Appstore along with the Kindle app.